Charles Leclerc makes Ferrari call after Spain 'surprise'

Charles Leclerc has called on Ferrari to make a step forward in the coming races to get itself into a consistently competitive position in the F1 field.

The Italian squad has endured a difficult opening phase to the year and is yet to take a trip to the top step of the podium.

Leclerc has bagged a trio of top-three results, including back-to-back podiums in Monaco and Spain.

However, it has been unable to challenge McLaren or Red Bull at the front of the field, marking a disappointing opening phase to the year following its narrow defeat in the constructors' championship last year.

Having backed up his Monaco podium with another top-three finish in Spain, Leclerc detailed why there are contrasting emotions between the two podiums.

“It's not like I'm over the moon for a second or third place, but it still feels good because coming to the weekend, I did not expect that, but so I didn't last week as well in Monaco,” Leclerc told media including RacingNews365. 

“I think though in Monaco, the disappointment was big because in FP1, FP2, FP3 we were very strong. It was not the case here. 

“So, we weren’t strong in FP1, FP2, FP3 or qualifying. 

“But I knew I had sacrificed quali in order to be strong in the race, and it seems to have paid off - with a little bit of luck as well - that gave us the podium.”

Ferrari currently sit second in the constructors' championship but are a long way off leaders McLaren. 

With Mercedes and Red Bull lingering close behind, Leclerc asserted Ferrari is now content with its current form.

“So on that, it [the Spain podium] is a good surprise. And I’m very happy about our weekend, but I’m not happy about our overall performance.

“And on that, we need to do a step soon.”